On Freedom's Wings
by deltaprime11
Summary: Eren Yeager, Considered a Genius among his peers and one of the only humans alive who actively pursues fascination with the world outside the cages they call walls, This boy was prepared to force a shift in mankinds history, but how far can strength and will carry you alone? Eren starts out a bit older, Eremika will be the main pairing, Brother-sister relationship removed.
1. The Fall of Shiganshina

**A/N: So, A few things I should note and explain, The time frame for this set's Eren at teenager already so basically he starts of as a cadet, Mikasa is a couple of years younger and the whole siblings, but not siblings relationship doesn't exist here, This is a straight Eremika fiction, I am unsure about my side pairings or if they will exist at all, Mostly follows cannon, in terms of how it all pans out, I will likely make a few more changes, some minor some massive, although any changes I make I will do the best I can to explain them. Hope you all enjoy the first chapter though!**

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><p>It was all so familiar, The weight on his hips, the breeze that ruffled his hair, the views of rolling grass hills that seemed to stretch endlessly outwards, occasionally blotted by a black spot steadily approaching the outskirts of the wall humanity called it's home, he placed a booted foot at the edge of the massive white expanse of concrete that towered above the ravenous monster's below, he stared down at the teethed smiling freaks that would like nothing more for him to drop down so they could have their first meal in who knew how long, he spat down at the monsters before turning on his heel and facing the expanse that was the Shiganshina District, brown tiled roofs lined streets of cobble stone, people bargained the meager goods they had for money, farmed the fields and moved about their daily lives as if the world outside held no allure, that none of them were interested in what lay beyond the cage they called a home.<p>

"I'm home." He announced with a smile to the air, the breeze paid little regard to his words and ruffled his hair further as he stepped over the inner edge of the wall, he closed his eyes for a moment, releasing the latches of the gear the weighed on his hips, a weight that was so comfortable it felt to be a part of him, with a click the wired whirred through the air and dug into the concrete of the wall, halting his fall as his feet rested on the ground with a soft thud, the wires grated against the steel restraints of their boxes before the hooks slammed back into the spot with a metallic click, he replaced the two hilts that would hold blades had he been in combat and pulled his coat back into place.

"Yeager!" The sharp shout of his name drew his attention, he turned to face a familiar blonde member of the Garrison, the man already reeked of alcohol and it was barely noon, Yeager stifled the urge to pinch his nose as the man approached him "Are you trying to cause a panic, if people see you using maneuvers like that they might think something bad has happened."

"Tch, Glad to see your combat ready in case something _does_ happen." Yeager retorted sharply

A boisterous round of laughter followed the comment, "Hear that Hannes? You better shape up! Fifty years and the wall has never been breached, you worry too much, kid."

"I'm sure you'll be worried when you're the one getting eaten." Yeager countered before walking away, only to be stopped by a hand gripping his shoulder tightly he turned and sent an icy glare into the face of the Hannes.

"Eren, This town owes your old man a lot, saving the town from the plague," Hannes began "But, what they say is true, the wall hasn't even been in danger of a breach in years, the repairs can be done without casualty, there is no need to worry people by being poised to attack at the smallest things."

"Use whatever excuse you like to justify it," Eren retorted "There is nothing to gain from doing nothing."

He shook his shoulder free and continued down the street, eventually rounded the corner and dropping out of Hannes sight 'Eren, you can't be thinking…That?'

"Look out Hannes, you made the Genius mad." The other soldiers taunted.

"Brat's are getting disrespectful these days." Hannes turned around with a smile as he rejoined his comrades.

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><p>"What's wrong with them? Our enemies spend every day scratching at the walls and they are playing around like they don't exist at all." Eren complained.<p>

"You're still lecturing your seniors I see." The voice was familiar as Eren rounded the corner, a blonde haired and blue eyed boy smirked at him.

"Armin!" Eren exclaimed clasping his friends hand with a smile before stepping back and giving the boy a once over, he had a grown a little taller, but he was no means any bigger than short, his hair was slightly longer than it had been when he had left, it hung down a little above his shoulder's, he wore a white long sleeved shirt with a brown vest and brown pants, he looked very much like the son of the mayor he was supposed to.

"Haven't seen you in a few years, what did you do, just decide to go up a little bit?" Armin taunted at the lack of appearance change in one of his oldest friends.

"Hey, don't get mad at me because you're so short." Eren retorted with a smile as the blonde tossed a small red fruit to him, Eren spun the apple in his palm a few times, Armin fell into step beside him as the two walked the familiar street's of their childhood.

"So, How's life been while I was away? You get into many fights?" Eren asked with a childish grin.

Armin gave him a sidelong glance "A few, Your girlfriend was always around to save me though." He fired back.

Eren staggered and straightened slightly, a small amount of red dusting his cheeks "Don't screw around." He got out stiffly.

"Hah, I knew you would be too chicken to tell her how you feel before you left!" Armin exclaimed, a small object hit him in the forehead and he cut off, rubbing the mark where the apple had struck him "Alright, alright."

"It's not like I didn't want to, it just didn't seem right." Eren responded looking at the ground.

"You sure you aren't just scared she'll say no?" Armin countered 'She never would, but it's fun to tease him' Armin followed in his head.

"Please, No one can resist the look of a man in uniform," Eren chuckled out, tugging his cadet coat around his shoulders before sighing "Who knows?"

Armin tossed the small red fruit into the air and caught it, appearing to be in thought "Well, What branch are you going into? With hw you roasted them, I doubt it's a garrison, so Military Police? or Recon corps?"

Eren smirked "You know me." Was all he said and Armin nodded in understanding.

"Just so you know, Mikasa will follow after you no matter which you join, you know that right?" Armin stared at the face of his childhood friend intently. Eren didn't seem surprised by the information.

"Yeah, I know," Eren look at the sky and frowned, the sight was just a V-line of ducks, but what was odd is they were flying north, 'There's no reason they would fly north this season,' he turned to look at the wall, he couldn't shake a encroaching uneasiness his gut "Armin, Something isn't right."

Armin had been studying his friend the entire time, he followed his gaze to the set of birds then to the wall, he also found it odd the birds were flying as if they were migrating this early in the season, but it didn't seem like something that would Eren would become uneasy for, his eyes flickered over the form of his friend, the rigidness in his shoulders, the stance and the way his hands hovered a small distance from his gear 'He isn't just uneasy, he's behaving like he's about to go into combat.'

Eren's eyes travelled over the top of the wall, he could see a small swirling patch of black cloud, he frowned at the small mass that hovered in an otherwise completely clear sky, he watched a small flashed of gold light arced around it before firing down, the resulting thunderous crash and spark of light caused him to cove his eyes with his arm, when he could finally see again, all he could make out was the meaty flesh of a massive expanse peering over the top of the wall, Eren stared at the massive creature that towered the wall.

"Armin, Get your dad, Mikasa, My mother and anyone else you can behind the inner gates." Eren ordered sharply, shocking his friend out of his shocked state of panic.

Armin's eyes darted in between the massive monster and his friend a few times before his nodded and he ran off, Eren released the handles of his gear and slammed them into the latches of his blades, he fired the wires into the guttering of the roof nearest him and flipped into a landing, walking over the other side of the roof and staring down at the centre courtyard, he and Armin must have wandered to this spot when they were talking, everyone was staring at the monster that stood over the wall in complete disbelief, unable to do anything but stare

"What are you all doing! Start moving towards the Inner gate!" Eren shouted, loud enough that the resulting Echo shook a few people from their daze, they began shouting warnings as well, eventually the town had begun it's rather panicked movement further away from the outside wall, Eren turned to the thing that peered over the wall, he could only make out the head, so when the gate suddenly exploded he was in as much surprise as the rest of the city, stone and concrete flew into the air as the impact took sections of wall with the gate, Eren regained his footing quickly as he fired his wire into the sky, latching on the a section of the wall just before it began its descent, he heard the gas in his gear expel outwards propelling him forward, the wiring released and snapped back into his gear, he turned his body and fired them again, connecting to a clock tower that seemed out of the way of the falling debris, he locked against it as the building he was standing on moments before was crushed, he let out a sigh of relief as he turned back towards the gate.

"THE TITAN'S ARE INSIDE!" The panicked scream was easily heard in between the sound of people and buildings crumbling.

'Why now? The Recon Corps, it out of the city and aren't due back until tomorrow to enlist the new cadets, this is all too convenient.' Eren thought quickly as he repositioned a little more forward, he stared over the buildings at the first few of the 15m class titans as they straighten after getting through the wall.

"Yeager! Get yourself to the inner-gate!" He recognized that voice, he looked down at the blonde haired Garrison member currently ordering him around.

"What?! I'm the best fighter you have in the city!" Eren shouted down in protest, it may have sounded cocky, but his training scores were only rivaled by one other person and that Recon corps member was very well known.

"You haven't graduated yet, boy!" Hannes shouted at him "You will obey any order given by a superior officer! Get your Family and get out of the city!"

Eren gritted his teeth, he wanted to argue, to convince Hannes to let him fight, but as the man had stated he didn't have that luxury. He nodded and jumped off the building the whirring of wire and the sound of Eren being propelled away followed as he made his way towards his home.

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><p>Eren frowned as he moved through the streets, a lot of the rubble from the wall had struck the residential district, a new sense of worry set into his stomach as he continued through the streets, he told Armin to go to his dad first cause it guaranteed his safety, there is no way they would let the small blonde go to his family after he found his own, he rounded the corner and slid to a stop as he stared at what was left of his home, his mouth opened and closed uselessly, refusing to make the sound of any words that came to mind, a small shifted caught his eyes and he darted forward, his mother top half was visible from under the rubble her legs were completely buried under the rest of the house.<p>

"Mother!" Eren finally managed to shout, she look up at him and a relieved smile enveloped her face.

"Eren, Your okay," She responded as the boy ran over to her, he stared at him as he gripped the board that would have held the roof up at one point and strained against it until his fingers bled, he lowered his body and rammed into the rubble with his shoulders "Eren, Listen to me, even if you get me out my legs are crushed, I can't move at all," The boy paused and stared down at her, tears already brimming in his eyes, she tilted her head toward a pile of random bricks, Eren followed the gaze and saw what she was telling him, the pale hand of someone he most definitely knew protruded from the rubble "She will be better off than me. Please."

Eren's head darted between the two rapidly, his Mother was asking him to abandon her, save someone else and escape, Eren straightened and nodded, tears flowed freely from his eyes as he dug at the rubble, finally revealing the black haired girl his family had taken in years ago, the red scarf he had given her still wrapped tightly around her neck, the girl was unconscious but didn't seem to be majorly hurt at least from an outside glance, he stared at his mother as he shifted Mikasa onto his back.

"Oh, I had forgotten," She suddenly breathed out "Congratulations on Graduating, my little boy, now go on."

The conflict was apparent on Eren's face, he didn't want to just run away, that much was obvious and he certainly didn't want to just leave his mother there.

"Eren, you've never listened to me before, so just please…Abide my last request?" His mother breathed out loud enough for him to hear.

He gritted his teeth and put on foot behind him, the girl on his back stirred and he finally turned around he focused entirely on putting one foot in front of the other, afraid if he thought about anything else he would turn around, the ground shook and he picked up his pace, he didn't need to turn around to know what was going to happen and against every single ounce of judgment he had, he stopped and turned his head back.

The titan must have been around 15m tall, it was muscular and had black hair that hung loosely around its head, the wide smile on its face cause bile to raise in the back of his throat the monster pulled his mother from the rubble of their home, she beat at its hand uselessly, Eren's feet continued involuntarily at this point, he watched the smiling titan move its other hand over his mother and twist violently, no matter how much he wanted to he couldn't take his eyes off the scene, the titan lifted the lifeless form of his mother to its mother and bit down, Eren tore his head forward almost forcefully, moving as fast as he could without jostling the girl on his back too much, he hoped she wasn't hurt too much as he moved towards the inner gate of Shiganshina district.

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><p>Armin sat on one of the many boats that was to be leaving Wall Maria, the second he had found his family they were herded onto this boat by soldiers, he stared at the rising smoke pillars that were the only thing visible from this side of th wall.<p>

"Eren, I'm sorry." He whispered to himself as he pulled his knee's up to his chest and placed his forehead against his arms.

"Armin!" The blonde's head shot up as the black haired boy ran up to him and leaned down "Help me here would you."

It took Armin a few moments to realize the bundle on his friends back was Mikasa, he got to his feet and helped her down laying her down carefully, Eren removed his coat and folded it into a makeshift pillow that he placed under the back of her head. Armin looked at his friend for a moment, his eyes were red a puffy, his head swiveled around when Eren's mother was nowhere to be found he could guess the reason. Eren jumped to the edge of the ship and looked over the crowd, he watched as the remaining people poured through the open gate and heard the grating of stone as it began closing, the soldiers he had seen at the cannons on the other side were the last ones through, the boat groaned as it began moving, Eren frowned and looked around himself, there was still room for a far few more people, his eyes shifted back to the gate as the ground shook and the wall groaned, with a shower of stone a figure charged through the centre of the wall, the massive expanse of what looked like bone froze after sliding to a stop, the things eyes glowed gold and it had short white hair on it's head.

Walking around the railing of the ship Eren stopped at the closest point to the wall and stared at the mass of bone that had crushed the wall "Hey! You hulking piece of shit! Bring as many titan's in as you want I'LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM ON MY WAY TOO YOU!" Eren roared back at the armored titan, the monster paid no attention to him, Eren held the glare on its body until he could no longer see it and he dropped back down onto the deck of the ship.

"Armin, how is she?" Eren asked as he sat down.

"You're the doctor's son," Armin countered "As far as I can tell she has a broken arm, but other than that she seems okay."

Eren nodded "I'll go get bandages for a sling, wait here."

Armin nodded and stared at the unconscious face of his friend sadly "Armin, This wasn't your fault…Don't even think about blaming yourself for a second." Eren finished as he made his way through the crowd atop the ship.

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><p>Mikasa's eyes opened and she was stopped by a gentle hand on her shoulder stopped her before she could sit up, "Easy, you've been out of it a few days." She recognized the voice even if the face wasn't in view from her angle, he hand mover around his back and helped her into a sitting position, she stared at the eyes of the black haired boy she had not seen in almost two years, she looked down at her left arm in a sling and the scattered memories of what was going to be known as the Fall of Shiganshina.<p>

"Here, you need to eat something," Eren handed her a roll of bread "I know it's not much but they have to ration the food now, there just isn't enough anymore."

"What about you?" Mikasa croaked out, not realizing just how dry her throat was, he put a flask of water to her mouth and tilted she drank almost greedily and chuckled "I see you still bite off more than you can chew."

She glared at him out of the corner of her eyes as he lowered the flask "So, what about your rations?"

"I'm fine." Eren replied with a smile, Mikasa knew Eren better than he thought she did, she could make out the slight hollowness of his cheeks and the exhausted look in his eye, he was likely sharing what meager amount of food he got with other people, she doubted he would even eat any of it at all if he didn't need too.

She broke the roll in half by placing one half in her mouth and tearing with her uninjured hand, holding out the half that wasn't dangling from her mouth to him, he took it after a moment "I said I'm fine."

"Eren, you need to eat too." Mikasa silenced the argument with an icy glare.

He nibbled at his half of the bread before digging into it a little more fervently. Mikasa smirked around her mouthful "That's fine is it? How many days sense you last ate even that much of your rations?"

"Three," Eren admitted sourly "I have been giving most of mine to the younger ones."

"Jeez, once the point of making it out to starve yourself," Mikasa attempted at a taunt, the mirth in it all but died before she got halfway through the sentence "Carla's-"

"Gone." Eren confirmed staring at the palms of his hands, Mikasa could make scar tissue out from where she was, she vaguely remembered him pulling her from the rubble, everything after that was only spots of her in consciousness "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for? There was nothing you could do, it happened as it happened all I can do is accept it." Eren didn't lift his head while he spoke, she more or less knew he was crying and trying to hide it, his shoulders shook slightly and his fists were clenched, it was a habit he had when he cried.

"Mikasa?" Eren asked

"Yes, Eren?" Mikasa responded

"Can you, just not move for a minute?" He asked

"Sure." She replied.

Eren leaned forward and placed his head onto of her right thigh, looking away from her and at the wall, she felt the tears hit the thing blanket that covered her legs, she lifted her uninjured arm and began stroking his hair comfortingly, Eren wasn't sure how long he had just laid there like that, But Mikasa hadn't moved or complained once, she just stroked the back of his head for as long as he needed, he could only smile despite the situation.

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><p><strong>AN: Sooooo? What do you think? A little Eremika cuteness, the fall and the beginning of my little slice of SNK, Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you in the next one!**


	2. The 104th Trainees'

The bustling of the small courtyard was quite loud around the time the rations were handed out, Eren leaned against the stone pillar that led into an archway with a wooden railing spanning the inside, Mikasa sat on the railed and was swishing her legs idly as the pair waited for Armin to return with their share of today's food, he had insisted of getting the food everyday at least, Eren would have done it himself but the blonde was adamant, he yawned into the back of his hand, he was exhausted, even against Mikasa's wishes he shared large portions of the meager amount of food they got and sleep wouldn't come anyone easily after the last few weeks of their lives.

Mikasa glance at the black haired boy from the corner of her eyes, she could see the effect everything that had happened was taking on him, His cheeks were even more hollowed out than before, his skin had lost the usual light tan it usually had and was much paler, his eyes seemed visibly heavy all the time and his shoulders were almost permanently slumped, even she had to admit he did quite a good job hiding the exhaustion behind smiles and the way he moved, but it would catch up to him eventually. It had been a few days sense Eren had used her lap as a pillow in his sadness, the boy had ended up falling asleep on her that day, not that she minded his sleeping face had always been cute to her, the way he looked so peaceful, although it had become the soul ammunition in Armin's taunts.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts of the black haired boy she barely noticed the small army of children that had swarmed the boy. Her eyes widened slightly, it seemed like almost every child that had survived Shiganshina was around him, he was taking the time to listen to each one, a warm smile on his face that seemed so comforting to her even from where she was sitting.

The kids stared up at him like he was some kind of saint, eyes shining with excitement the small crowd slowly got a little more hyped as he finished listening to one Childs retelling of how in school the girls were being taught embroidery and had stubbed her finger, the story was not exciting in the least, Mikasa had to stifle the urge to laugh at how the child made it seem so dramatic, but Eren's smile remained the same as it had when she had started, he gasped when she said something about blood and pretended to be worried, the kids loved it.

Mikasa hadn't noticed Armin rejoin her until he finally spoke "Who would have thought Eren could get these kids to be so happy after everything that happened."

A ball was brought into the crowd, although the thing was as makeshift and patchy as it gets, she wasn't even sure it could be considered a ball at this point, it fulfilled the job of rolling around well enough, Eren rolled it around with his feet and kicked it towards the boy a few meters from him, he joined in on their little improvised soccer game until the children's parents came to gather them, well the ones that still had parent's some just had relatives that made it out. He waved and kept the smile on his face until they were out of his sight and then visibly sagged.

"I'm gonna die," He panted as he took the roll that Armin had been holding for him, he tore the thing in half and began eating he small segment, Mikasa watched him carefully but didn't say anything, wasn't like he would listen to her anyway if he wanted to share what he had he would be "They get more energetic every day, what do they put in those kids rolls."

Mikasa let out a chuckle "Maybe they are just eating _all_ of their food."

"How dare you snide my charity, I am just being a good person," Eren responded in mock hurt "Maybe your right."

He continued to eat in silence as they watched the remaining refugee's filter into the courtyard and get their own food, he had long since abandoned his cadet's coat and wore a simple white shirt tied at the waist with a piece of rope and his gear had been confiscated when he arrived in Trost, He tugged at the color of the shirt in annoyance, the fabric was itchy as hell around the neck and he was sure it would end up driving him insane.

While Eren was inwardly complaining about the fabric of his shirt a pair of soldiers sauntered into the courtyard, Trost's Garrison may have been accommodating them, but they were in no way polite about it, Eren had heard a few stories of some of the demands they had had for a few of the younger female refugee's, it made him want to vomit.

"Jeez, All these damn cattle, just coming in here bleating for a meal, I wish the Titans had eaten more of them." One announced loudly, the bustling of the courtyard stopped and many people turned to glare at the owner of the voice, the soldiers face split in a wide grin knowing that the people could not rightfully strike him in anyway and he was free to run his mouth off "What? We are the ones feeding _you_, you had better be grateful."

"What was that?" Eren demanded as he moved towards the man "Grateful? For this roll you call a meal, Why don't you try living on it? Better yet let's see how you fair seeing your family eaten, hearing the screams of helpless people."

"What was that? Brat?" The solder shouted at him and moved forward, attempting to strike Eren across the face, Eren pivoted and the blow flew passed his head, Eren caught he mans wrist pulled it forward and kicked his legs out from under him, the man face planted into the concrete and he groaned

"Oh, Be careful, you don't want to hurt yourself." Eren taunted as the man slowly got to his feet.

"You damned brat!" The man charged him again, this time drawing one of the blades specifically designed to kill titans, Eren widened his stance and sidestepped the thrust slamming his forearm into the man's throat and planting him on his back, Eren stomped hard on the soldiers hand preventing him from lifting the weapon.

"You have no idea what you are talking about so I suggest you shut the fuck up." Eren growled kicking the sword out of the soldier hand and rejoining Mikasa and Armin.

The second soldier who had remained quiet and hadn't intervened picked the first one up and shook his head as he helped his comrade out of the courtyard. Eren pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath "I'm going to lie down." He said flatly, Armin nodded and Mikasa watched him leave silently before hopping down and following after him, Armin watched the black haired girl chase after his friend and smirked he'd tease her about it later.

When Mikasa rounded the corner after the black haired boy he was already entering his room, she slowed her pace, it's not like she needed to sprint after him.

"Ah! What the hell are you doing here you damned spawn of Satan!" Mikasa quickened slightly upon hearing Eren frustrated shout.

"Is that how you speak to a commanding officer, _Cadet?_" The voice responded in a flat tone.

"Oi! Don't try to pull rank shit, I was just about to graduate too, You just happened to be part of the Trost district Cadets, I'm still better than you with 3D gear and you know it." Eren retorted.

Mikasa slowed as she got to the door and peered through the cracks in the door, she was half happy half overwhelmed that she did.

Eren pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the small pile of folded rags that made up his bed, it was better than the stone floor, he sat down and sighed running a hand through his hair "So, Why are you here? Don't you have expeditions outside the walls to be getting too?"

"What about you? They are already calling for more Cadet volunteer's, Even if you have to go through it again, It's not like you ever had a hard time." The voice responded flatly.

"Levi," Eren threw the man a sidelong glance "I am going to sign up again, but I am going to wait a little longer to I think, There are some things I need to look after."

"Oh, You mean the blonde and the black-haired chick?" Levi shot back at him.

"I know Mikasa was planning on following me into the Cadet's in Shiganshina anyway, I don't know about Armin, But I want to be there for them if they decide to go through it, I'm not going to leave again so soon after the three of us got back together." Eren explained, staring at the floor beneath his feet.

"Hm, So do you still like her?" Levi asked bluntly

Eren started and pushed back his chair sliding out from under him and he toppled backwards with a loud crash, he groaned and held his ribs as he rolled over.

Mikasa burst through the door out of simple worry before she realized what she was doing, Eren froze and glanced up at her face, she elected to pretend she didn't hear the last question, no matter how curious she was about its answer.

"I heard a crash," Mikasa covered quickly "You okay?" She leant down to help him to his feet.

"I'm fine," Eren answered turning back to the other person in his room "Mikasa, This is Levi, My old rival, We met during the inter-district training sessions. Although we never did settle who was actually better."

Mikasa inclined her head to the other man, he was short, it surprised her he was the same age as Eren, he had short black hair parted in an undercut, his eyes were grey and he seemed to be looking straight through you when he focused, he had dark bags under his eyes from lack of sleep she guessed, she heard the Recon Corp had had it worst after the fall of Wall Maria, They were the only ones capable of leading rescue missions and they were attempting to get as many people to safety as possible, it was taking its toll.

"Levi, This is Mikasa." She caught the pointed glare Eren shot the man and chose to ignore it.

Levi inclined his head "Nice to meet you, Eren used to talk about you a lot."

Mikasa's cheeks colored slightly and Eren's mouth fell open in shock.

"Levi you jackass," He shouted before catching himself "I mentioned you and Armin a few times, during conversations about home." He explained.

Mikasa nodded "That's only natural."

Eren wasn't sure he was being understood or if they were just plain ignoring him. He shrugged "So, What's up with you? I have never known you to go to bed this early." He asked as he picked up his chair and sat down.

"I thought you might be feeling sick," Mikasa replied "I came so see if you needed anything."

"I'm fine," Eren responded smiling warmly "And what about you, Ya damned midget what are you doing here?"

Levi clicked his tongue "I wanted to make sure my rival isn't killing himself by giving away all his food."

Eren slumped "Honestly, You too? What's wrong with me making sure the kids who got out aren't starving, they need it more than I do."

Levi chuckled "Well, You aren't necessarily wrong, just keep yourself alive Yeager, The only one who gets to kill you is me."

Eren's face split into a wide grin "I'd like to see you try midget."

Mikasa watched the exchange with a small smile, it was almost like a routine, she could see it in their small smiles, 'Written as 'Rival' said as 'friend' huh?' She thought to herself as Levi moved passed her.

"Keep an eye on him will you? I probably don't need to tell you how he gets." He whispered as she exited the room, she nodded when he turned around and he smirked "Well, I'm off to save the world," He announced a little loudly "You had better hurry up Yeager, Otherwise all the Titan's will be dead before you get a chance at any of them."

"Hah, If you end the war before I get a chance to join I'll buy you a castle!" Eren shouted in retort.

"I'll hold you to that Yeager." Levi replied, giving a backhanded wave as he walked out of the room closing the door behind him.

Mikasa turned around to ask Eren but her mouth closed as she noticed the boy head leaning back against the wall, soft open mouthed snoring filled the room and she let a small smile enveloped her face as she moved him onto the bed, she turned around t leave the room, she let out a surprised gasp when Eren caught her wrist and flipped her, she landed beside him with a soft thud, her cheeks rivaled the color of Eren's scarf. His arm rested lazily over her stomach, she rolled over and stared at his face, she was surprised he still seemed to be asleep, his face was perfectly calm, she smiled as she watched his chest rise and fall with his breath. She snuggled her head into his chest and traced the muscle on his collar bone idly before she began to feel tired, eventually falling asleep beside him.

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><p>In the following weeks of the Fall, Those who controlled the District of Trost made the decision to attempt to retake Wall Maria, they sent almost all of the adult refugee's from Shiganshina and the surrounding villagers as well as a large portion of The Garrison. Most knew it was little more than an extermination plan so they could feed the people who were still alive, although nobody voiced any arguments and time just relentlessly ticked by.<p>

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><p>Eren swirled the small key around his neck, he had no idea where he got it, he only had these fuzzy memories with his dad, nothing concrete and nothing he could make heads or tails of anyway. He shook his head and sighed as he walked down the street of the Trost market, It had been a few weeks since they had sent most of the population to their deaths and people barely seemed to remember the Fall, falling back into their daily routines, complaining about food and living their lives.<p>

He shifted the small basket of supplies in his hand, he Mikasa and Armin had been placed in mass housing with a number of the remaining refugee's, they had been split two to a room in large two story houses, furniture was minimal but at it was comfortable enough.

He placed the basket of food on the table and plopped down on his bed heavily, he heard a knock "Come in!" He called without getting up, he didn't need to move to know who had come in.

He heard the shuffling of footsteps and the lid of the basket being moved "You could at least get _some_ vegetables."

Eren chuckled from the bed "Good morning to you too." He replied sarcastically.

"Oh, Eren your back." Armin voiced as he walked into the room, Eren pushing himself up and leaned against the wall

Eren smiled and gave him a quick wave "So, What do you need?"

Armin sat down opposite Mikasa who was still unpacking the small amount of food Eren had bought, He laced his finger's together and stared at the top of his hands for a few minutes his brow furrowed and he finally looked up, Eren and Mikasa exchanged looks of concern before Armin finally spoke.

"I'm going to join the Military with you two." He said simply.

Eren stared at him for a few seconds "That's it?" He visually slumped "I thought you were going to say you met a girl and need me to move out of here."

Armin frowned at him and Mikasa stifled a laugh behind her hand "I think what Eren means to say is, We never thought you were just going to stay here. It's not like you."

Armin smiled and nodded.

"But still, are you two absolutely sure about this? Cadet training is not easy at all." Eren stared at the two in turn, as he spoke.

"Well, You managed to pass, it can't be that hard." Armin taunted

Eren rolled his eyes "Don't say I didn't warn you."

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><p>Eren had missed this feeling a uniform gave him, he had been forced to give his up when he made it to Trost, he was glad to have a new one, although he knew it wasn't going to be new for long. He could make out Armin and Mikasa from the corner of his eyes, he definitely refused to turn his head to look at them, Especially if Keith was still the drill sergeant, he hid a shiver as a few memories surfaced.<p>

He couldn't make out the people beside him, but he knew the one on his left was eating and whoever it was certainly wasn't being stealthy about it.

"Pst, You might want to hide that before the Sergeant catches you, He'll make you run laps and you won't get a meal for a week." Eren leaned slightly to his left and whispered.

He heard a surprised gasp, then the sound of panic and shifting feet, he turned his head slightly in time to see the brown haired girls beside him launch the food she was eating into the air, his eyes widened slightly as the thing flew the outer fences easily.

"Attention!" The loud shout caused a identical straitening, a loud stomp as the Cadet's of the 104th regiment placed their hands over their hearts and brought their ankles together.

Eren noticed a bald man, looking specifically terrifying as he walked past the front row of Cadet's, stopping occasionally to terrify one. He finally arrived at the Cadet to Eren's right.

"Listen here you royal dumbass," Keith growled, his eyes darkening slightly as he glared at the boy beside Eren, Eren swallowed hard "Is that how you were taught to salute?!"

"Sir!" The Cadet yelled, from the voice Eren knew it was a guy, but he had no clue beyond that.

"Right hand over your heart, As if you were offering it up for god! What kind if retard are you huh? Can't even salute properly, you will be Titan food in no time!" He roared at the boy.

Keith stared at Eren for a long time, Eren met the man's gaze impassively, Keith continued.

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><p>That night Eren, Armin and Mikasa sat around a table eating slowly "That sergeant was something else." Armin prompted raising his eyebrows slightly to peer at Eren.<p>

Eren nodded "He hasn't changed much, still angry all the time."

"Did he scream at you the first time you came through here?" Armin asked.

Eren nodded "I guess I don't need to be psychologically broken in anymore huh?" He laughed quietly and the two just nodded.

"Hey, You're from Shiganshina right?!" One of the many Cadet's suddenly approached Eren with a smile, the boy was short, his hair was completely shaved off, he had brown hazel eyes and wore a simple shirt and slacks.

Eren nodded.

"That means you were there, That day right?!" The boy asked excitedly.

The mess hall fell silent, everyone listening closely with varying degrees of intensity. A few people walked towards the three at the table.

Eren nodded again.

"Do you see the Colossal Titan, I heard it towered the wall by a thousand meter's!" The short boy asked his excitement seeming to grow with every question.

A few whispers went around the room discussing the different things they had heard about said Titan, Eren placed his spoon down "No, It didn't tower the wall by that much, the top of its head barely peaked the top of it, so it was still massive, but not quite _that_ big."

"So, That means you saw the Armored Titan too right?!" The boy asked again even more excited than before.

"Oi!" A boy with black hair and freckles on his face moved forward and placed a hand on the short boys shoulder "Connie, As if they want to remember stuff like that."

"Yeah, I had a great view of it when it bored through the wall," Eren answered staring at his food as if disgusted "That's why we are here though isn't it, To get the wall back, We need to show the Titan's exactly who they are fucking with."

"Hah, Not all of us are as Suicidal as you," A taller boy announced from the opposite side of the room, he looked up a Eren and smirked, the boy had light ash-brown hair, light brown eyes his hair was shorter around the sides and back "Personally, I am aiming for the top ten to go to the Military brigade, I am going to live out my life in luxury and safety." He announced cockily.

"_Safety_, huh? Funny you know they said the same thing about Shiganshina, how safe we were behind the walls, What are you going to do when there are no more walls for you to run and hide behind? You want to be one of the best soldiers in the Military and you are going to go hide from the titan's until they come get you." Eren responded flatly

"Better you gain an Extra few years than enlist in the Recon Corps and die the day I leave the walls." The boy replied.

"Jean!" The black haired boy shot him a glare and Jean raised his hands defensively.

Eren pushed his plate away and stood up, he walked out of the Mess Hall quickly and waited on the porch, leaning his arms over the railing and crossing his legs, he placed the back of his hand against his mouth and took long deep breaths, forcing images of his mother out of his mind.

Armin and Mikasa watched Eren leave, he waited a few more moments before pushing his own plate forward and standing up, Mikasa did the same as the two followed after Eren.

Mikasa was stopped by a hand grabbing her arm, Armin paused at the door and turned around, Mikasa gestured for him to keep going, she would catch up and he nodded.

"What?" Mikasa turned her eyes on the boy who had spoken to Eren before, Jean.

Jean paused and faltered "Um, you, uh, I-I like your hair."

Mikasa stared at the boy in front of her and resisted the urge to sigh "You should be more courteous of those around you, Think before you speak." She shook her arm free and followed after Armin and Eren.

Jean looked shell shocked for a moment before following her out of the Mess, he stopped on the porch when he noticed her jog up to Eren who was rough housing with the Blonde kid playfully.

"Ah, Mikasa help me!" Armin pleaded.

"Eren you shouldn't bully the helpless." Mikasa joked

"Hey!" Armin exclaimed as he got free of Eren's grip.

Mikasa brushed her hair out of her eyes an action Eren noticed "You should probably get a haircut, I heard it's hard to maneuver with long hair."

"Oh, I didn't think you were into short hair Eren," Armin nudged Eren with his elbow, Mikasa lowered her chin as red dusted her cheeks.

"No-I- I'm being serious!" Eren stuttered.

"It's fine, I'll cut it." Mikasa said flatly.

Jean's grip tightened on the porch as he glared at the back of the boys head angrily.

Connie walked out of the Mess hall behind Jean, he looked down the way and spotted the three "Damn I wanted to ask them more questions."

Jean wiped his hand on the back of Connie's shirt and opened the door to the Mess.

"Oi! Jean damnit?! What did you just wipe on my shirt!" Connie shouted as he tried to move his shirt around to see it.

"My faith in Humanity." Jean responded flatly.

Connie just stared at the door with a frown.

* * *

><p>Eren crossed his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling, Armin dangled his legs over the side of the bunk above Eren.<p>

"I'm tired." Armin let out a relieved sigh as he laid down.

"We haven't even started yet," Eren responded flatly "Tomorrow's the real test." He rolled over and pulled his sheet over his shoulder.

"Yeah, You're right about that." Armin replied as he laid down.

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><p><strong>AN: I couldn't figure out a way to end this chapter, so it may drag on a little I'm not sure. Hope you all enjoyed and I will see you in the next one! Peace.**


	3. Hot Days

It was hot, swelteringly so, Sweat beaded on his brow and flowed down his nose, he tightened his fists and waited, every muscle in his body taught and waiting, His opponent, a tall broad shouldered boy with short blonde hair and gold eyes gripped the small wooden practice knife a little tighter as the two stared each other down. Reiner shifted and Eren widened his stance and turned on his heel, the boy stabbed air as Eren brought his elbow down on the back of Reiner's neck, the boy regained his balance before falling on his face and charged again, Eren caught his wrist in his hand and turned pulling the blonde over his shoulder, the boy hit the ground with a loud thud and he coughed.

Eren offered his hand to the downed boy and stretched out his back extending his arms above his head, he walked over to the small pack he had brought with him, pulling the small silver canteen of water out of it he drank greedily and wiped his mouth before replacing the cap and tossing it to Reiner who caught it deftly and followed suit. Eren tugged at his shirt, the thing was matted to his body with his own sweat, he pulled the fabric over his head and rolled his shoulder before walking over and picking up the small practice knife, he spun it in his palm and tossed it into the air before catching it again.

"Alright, Let's go again." Reiner puffed out as he placed the canteen on the ground beside Eren's pack and took up his stance opposite Eren.

His arms were slightly lower than Eren, protecting his body more than his head he was more lowered considerably more and he left his right hand open, Eren frowned at the stance before shaking his head and widening his own, gripping the knife low to his waist and facing away from him. He lowered onto his front leg and launched the spring in his jump closing the distance as quickly, Reiner stepped back and launched a quick punch at Eren's head, Eren sidestepped and Reiner turned bringing his leg around and catching Eren's left arm, he retracted his leg and went on the offensive, launching three quick punches Eren had to back step away from, Reiner led with a wide left hook and Eren ducked it to find Reiner's right hand closing on his collar, Eren grabbed the blonde's wrist and turned inwards slamming his shoulder into Reiner's exposed ribs, the blonde grunted before Eren dropped low and brought his leg around in a quick kick, taking Reiner's legs out from under him and placing he small practice blade to the blonde's neck.

Reiner opened his hands in defeat and the two rolled away from each other. Reiner got to his feet and walked to the edge of the small training yard, leaning against the fence. Berthold patted his shoulder.

"You almost got him," Berthold encouraged "Won't be much longer."

Reiner smiled at the brunette, before the pair turned their eyes back to the training ground "Who's next?"

"Oh, This ought to be good." Connie began excitedly, The group of Trainee's turned their attention to Eren's opponent.

The boy facing Eren was average in height and build, he had short ash-brown hair and a specifically intense look in his eyes, Jean glared at Eren as the black haired boy finished the remainder of the last canteen, That meant this was the last match of the day for the trainee's who had been going at Eren for the better part of four hours.

* * *

><p>"You guys have to come see this!" Sasha announced loudly as she burst into the women's barracks, the female trainee's looked up at her from their beds, most were content with lazing around on the only day off they had from training in weeks.<p>

"Where's the fire potato girl," Ymir groaned from her bed, Sasha puffed her cheeks out at the nickname, apparently more than one person had seen her on that first day and that name was difficult to live down "Or is there actually a fire?"

"Oh, no," Sasha paused a moment "The boys are out sparring!"

This caught some of the girls attention, a little of it anyway.

"So?" Krista asked from the back of the room.

"Well in this heat, it seems most of them couldn't take it," Sasha continued before she looked like she was about ready to explode "THEY ARE ALL PERFECTLY RIPPED!" She shouted in finish.

Ymir flopped onto her bed and sighed, the reactions varied from disinterested in the guys to girlish screams of excitement.

"What's go all of you so excited?" Mikasa asked as she walked back into the room, a towel hanging loosely around her head to dry her hair, Sasha wondered how she managed to wear that scarf in this heat but promptly ignored it.

"We are all going to see who got the best bod out of the boys!" She blurted out

"Oh? I see, have fin then." Mikasa responded boredly

"Eren's there two," Sasha prompted "All sweaty and hot."

Mikasa's head picked up, she visibly took a calming breath "Maybe I'll join you, I need to make sure he is okay on a day like this."

"Yeah, We all know you want Yeager, no need to try and be modest here Mikasa." Ymir groaned from the bed, lifting her head noticing Krista standing in the group that was going to ogle.

"You're going to huh?" He voiced.

"I was thinking they would need a bit more water on a day like this," Krista replied holding up a bag, the rattling of canteens could be heard from inside.

"You probably the only one going with good intentions." Ymir rolled her eyes form the bed as the group left, Mikasa followed albeit slower and staying small distance behind them.

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><p>Jean stood with his hands on his knee's panting, a fair bit of dust over his torso, most of the guys had followed Eren's example after awhile, their shirts getting more annoying as the day dragged on, Jean used it as excuse to get an extra match, claiming the shirt bogged down his movement.<p>

Eren circled the brown haired boy slowly, in terms of ability Jean was probably the worst of them based on martial prowess, but he was craftier than a raccoon and his attacks were unorthodox making them difficult to predict. Jean charged Eren with a loud shout, Eren dropped his weight back and launched his leg at him, Jean faltered his momentum carrying him too far as Eren's boot met the side of his head, Jean flew to the side and landed with a loud thud, Jean got his feet groggily and staggered.

"Not yet!" He shouted as Connie moved off the fence, the shaved boy faltered and paused.

"Oi! Jean, That's enough you aren't going to be able to beat him today." Jean shook his head and faced Eren again, Eren trained his eyes on the boy, Eren's stance hadn't changed at all. Jean continued to glare at him.

"Hey boys, looking good!" Sasha shouted from the oath back to the barracks, The group of boy turned to look at the group of women walking up the hill with interest, it wasn't like the girls to train hand to hand combat on days off, They had been doing it since they found out they couldn't beat Eren.

"What are you all doing here?" Connie asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Sasha told us you guys were training, we came to cheer you on and Krista brought more water." A girl with black hair answered simply.

The boys cheered, mostly because that meant Eren would stay longer, it was basically an unspoken rule that when the water ran out he left, they all might get a few more rounds in with that. They looked at each other excitedly.

Jean and Eren paused there little match when the group of girls had arrived, although Jean seemed impatient he wasn't going to attack Eren when he clearly wasn't paying attention. The girls filtered into the group and sat around the fence. Eren noticed Mikasa standing a little off of the fence, pretending to be interested in almost anything that wasn't in his direction.

He sighed "Shall we get-" He cut off as he jerked his head back to avoid a wild punch the Jean had sent at him, He pivoted on his foot and sent a quick kick low at Jean's legs, causing the boy to jump back.

"That was pretty cheap Jean." Eren taunted.

"Shut up!" Jean retorted as he charged again, Eren was getting tired of the same opponent, he stepped forward launching a heavy blow into Jean's stomach, Jean's charge was abruptly cut off and he fell to his knees and held his stomach as he wheezed.

Eren caught the canteen Connie tossed to him, He drank a little slower than he had before, glancing at Mikasa out of the corner of his eye 'Why did she come with them? I can't see her as the type to come and ogle guys just cause their shirts are off.'

"Okay, I'm definitely going to beat you this time!" Connie declared pointed at Eren with a smirk.

Eren smiled at him "Come at me then!"

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><p>"Ah, I'm tired," Eren sighed as he leaned back in his seat "Did Krista have to bring I<em> that<em> much water, Honestly I am surprised I didn't pass out."

Armin chuckled "I told you to try and appear as a newbie, Guys don't take getting beaten like that easily, they are going to keep challenging you too."

"I didn't say anything about the sparring, it's interesting and frankly pretty fun, I just don't think I can handle it all day like this," Eren responded "Even I get tired."

Armin nodded in understanding.

"Speaking of which, Why'd you come up with the other girls Mikasa? I didn't take you as the type that enjoys looking at the male form in her spare time." Eren asked simply.

Mikasa found the table underneath her hand very interesting as her cheeks rivaled the color of her scarf "I-, uh, Had to make sure you were okay, I didn't want you to get exhausted from the heat and pass out or anything."

"I'm sure Eren all glistening with sweat and shirtless had absolutely nothing to do with it," Armin prodded enjoying the reaction from his friend "I wonder if the girls would end up going shirtless in training, I'm sure Eren would never partake in ogling the perfection of you girl in just bra's at all."

If looks could kill Armin's entire family line would have just died and the ashes would never be found, he swore he could see steam coming out of Eren's ears, Armin smirked to himself sufficiently satisfied with the images he had planted in Eren's head and the reaction he got out of Mikasa.

"I didn't take you for a pervert, Arlert," The small blonde turned to the voice, Annie stared at him with a smallest of smiles on her face, she leaned forward and whispered in his ear "I might be able to convince Mikasa to train like that with me."

Eren watched his small blonde friend slowly begin to glow a whole variable color palette and almost laughed, he was definitely curious what was just said to the small boy and was most definitely going to tease him about it till he relented the sentence.

"Well, That's it for me today, We got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Eren stated standing up and gathering his plate, he deposited it in a small buckets of water for whoever was on wash duty and left the Mess hall. Getting back the men's barracks and hitting his bed with a heavy relieved sigh.

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><p><strong>AN: Shorter chapter in comparison to my first two, but yeah it's just a little fun chapter I had the idea of writing and felt like changing it up a bit, Hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time, peace!**


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